A Ghostly Epiphany
by danrdarrenc
Summary: Luke and Reid have a ghostly conversation. Inspired by the "King's Cross" chapter from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."
1. Chapter 1

"_Luke…power-of-attorney," Reid mumbled, each word clearly causing him pain._

_ "Let me be clear, Dr. Oliver. You want Luke to have your durable power-of-attorney?" Tom Hughes asked the dying doctor. Reid nodded._

_ "No. He doesn't know what he's saying. I don't want any stupid power-of-attorney," Luke said, tears streaming down his face._

_ "Chris…heart," Reid grumbled._

_ "You want Chris to have your heart?" Tom asked._

_ Reid nodded and said, "Who knew I had one to give?" Reid turned his head to look at Luke and smiled slightly._

_ "No. Reid, please," Luke pleaded. "Please, we haven't had enough days. I love you. And you love me. You said it. So, please, Reid, you can't leave me." Luke brought his face close to his lover's and kissed him just as he flat lined._

Luke woke in his bed with a start, his face wet with tears. It had been two weeks since Reid's death and the pain was still as awful as it had been when it happened. Since returning home after sprinkling Reid's ashes in the Snyder pond, Luke had effectually locked himself in his bedroom, emerging only once in a while to go to the bathroom or to get a glass of water. His parents or his siblings would occasionally attempt to get him to eat or, at the very least, come out of his room; but all that they did was in vain.

Luke rolled over onto his back, enfolding in his arms the blue scrubs top of Reid's that he slept with, hoping every morning that he would wake up and Reid would be there instead of simply the shirt. Yet again, the disappointment of finding an empty bed was excruciating. After wiping away the tears, which every day fell silently and unceremoniously down his face, Luke realized that he was thirsty. Slowly, Luke threw the covers off of himself and sat up. As usual, it took him a good ten minutes before he let his feet touch the ground and he got up off the bed.

Zombie-like, Luke made his way down the stairs and into the living room. He looked around and realized that the house was incredibly quiet; his family had finally given up on trying to get him to do things with them and had gone out without him. Not really caring, Luke dragged his feet towards the kitchen to get a glass of water. But when he was five feet from the doorway to the kitchen, Luke stopped, staring at the wall, which was fronted with a wine and whiskey cellar.

As he stood there, staring at the incredibly enticing bottles of alcohol, words Reid had said to him shortly before his death rang through Luke's head: _"If I'm going to put myself out there, fall in love with you, I'm not going to lose you."_

"Yeah. Well, I guess you had nothing to worry about," Luke said, moving closer to the wall, opening the door to the cellar, taking out a bottle of whiskey, and closing the door again. Wary that his family might be back soon from wherever they had gone, Luke walked back to his bedroom, the bottle of whiskey clasped tightly in his hand.

Once upstairs, Luke closed his door and sat down on his bed, staring at the picture of Reid he kept on his nightstand. After a few minutes, Luke unceremoniously popped off the bottle top and brought the opening to his mouth. Twice, Luke brought the bottle top to his lips without drinking anything. The third time, Luke gave in to the temptation and drank a mouthful of whiskey. He felt the alcohol burn down his throat and immediately the pain started to ease. Unable to resist the feeling of the dulled pain, Luke drank and drank until the bottle was empty. The whiskey making his brain fuzzy, Luke decided that he needed more, went downstairs, grabbed another bottle of whiskey, and drank half of it on his way back to his room. Closing the door again, Luke downed the rest of the bottle. As he attempted to stand up to once again go downstairs for more alcohol, Luke suddenly felt light-headed and dizzy. A few seconds later, he collapsed on his bed and everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Groaning because his head hurt slightly, Luke opened his eyes, blinking rapidly at the bright white, which bombarded his sight. Rubbing his forehead, Luke sat up and looked around him. He appeared to be in one of the overnight rooms in the Neurology Wing at Oakdale Memorial Hospital, but he wasn't sure how he had ended up there. Confused, Luke got out of the bed he was in and walked out into the hallway. It was ghostly empty and brighter than he remembered it ever being. Furrowing his brows, Luke continued walking around, occasionally peering through room windows to see if there was anyone around. As he passed room after room and found that he was completely alone, Luke became completely and utterly baffled and somewhat frightened.

When he came to the end of the hallway and came upon the waiting lounge, Luke finally saw that there was someone else in the hospital with him. Curious to know what was going on, Luke walked quickly over to where the man sat at one of the tables, eating. He stopped dead in his tracks and his heart skipped a beat as Luke realized that the man at the table was Reid.

"Hi," Reid said through a mouthful of his sandwich.

"Reid?" Luke said. It was barely a whisper.

"Who else would I be?" Reid said, stuffing the last piece of his sandwich into his mouth. When he had wiped his hands on his napkin, he pushed a chair out and gestured for Luke to sit down. Luke obeyed, mesmerized.

"I don't understand," Luke said. "You're dead. I saw you die."

"I know," Reid said, leaning back in his chair and staring at Luke hungrily.

"So…so, does that mean I'm dead?" Luke asked, realization dawning on him.

"No," Reid said, rather forcefully.

"But, how are you here then?"

"You're unconscious, Luke. You drank yourself into a stupor. You're in that messy gray area between life and death," Reid said, anger and disappointment in his voice.

Luke sensed his lover's frustration with him and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't want to live without you."

"That's idiotic," Reid said.

"But I love you," Luke protested. "I miss you."

"I know," Reid said gently, smiling slightly. "I miss you, too." He reached over and took one of Luke's hands in his own.

Luke gasped at the contact; he had not expected to be able to touch Reid. Craving to be closer to the man he had lost, Luke pulled Reid out of his chair and led him over to the couch, which had suddenly and randomly appeared.

As soon as they had sat down, Luke curled his legs up onto the couch and laid his head on the doctor's shoulder, Reid draping his arm around Luke's shoulders.

"I never want to move," Luke said, his eyes closed.

Reid smiled sadly and said, "You have to. You have you're whole life ahead of you."

"Not without you," Luke said, looking at the older man.

"Yes. Yes, you do. There's so much you have to do. So many people you have to help," Reid said, running his hand across Luke's cheek.

"We were supposed to help people together," Luke said, a tear escaping, as he ran his hand through Reid's hair.

"I know," Reid said, pulling Luke closer and embracing him. "I'm sorry I tried to outrun that train."

Luke choked back more tears and hugged Reid tighter, nuzzling his face into the doctor's neck.

"You have to go back, Luke," Reid said, pulling away only enough so that he could look Luke in the eyes.

"Come with me, please," Luke pleaded.

"You know I can't," Reid said.

Luke clenched his teeth, trying to stop his lips from quivering.

"Promise me that you won't drink like this again," Reid said. "I'm not worth it."

Luke closed his eyes, but said, "I promise."

"And promise me…promise me that you'll love again," Reid said. "You're heart is too wonderful to be wasted on a dead guy."

Luke opened his eyes and looked into Reid's. Seeing he was in earnest, Luke said quietly, "I promise."

Reid smiled faintly, a deep sadness in his eyes.

"I love you," Luke said, as he felt himself slipping back into consciousness and felt Reid slipping away.

"I love you, too," Reid said, also feeling them slipping apart.

Letting the tears escape, Luke desperately pressed his lips to Reid's. Quickly and hungrily, they shared a kiss before Reid disappeared, Luke savoring the taste of his lips, his eyes still closed as he felt that he was alone.


	3. Chapter 3

With the taste of Reid's lips still on his, Luke opened his eyes. He breathed in deeply as he took in his surroundings and realized that he was lying on his bed in his bedroom. He sat up slowly, his head pounding from a massive headache. He had no idea how long he had been out for, but he really did not care. He had seen and tasted Reid again and that was what mattered. If he told anyone what had happened, they would undoubtedly say that it had been a dream, but he knew in his heart that it had been real.

Luke shifted on his bed and looked at the picture of Reid. "I'm glad I got to see you again, baby," Luke said, picking up the frame and cradling it in his arms. "I'll do what you asked, but only because I can't argue with a dead guy." Smiling for the first time since the doctor's death, Luke kissed the picture and put it back on his bedside table.

Now genuinely curious about what was going on in the house, Luke made his way down the stairs. When he entered the living room, his parents were sitting at the table eating breakfast and reading the paper. It was obviously the next morning.

"Hi," Luke said, walking over to the table.

"Luke," Lily said, surprised but happy to see that her son had emerged from his room. "How are you feeling?"

"Hungry," Luke said, realizing this for the first time.

Holden smiled fleetingly before handing Luke the cereal box and gesturing for him to sit down and eat.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lily said, concerned that Luke had made a complete 180 in personality in 24 hours.

Luke nodded, his mouth full of Cheerios. When he had swallowed, Luke said, "It's just…I had an epiphany last night. I realized that Reid wouldn't want me to be sitting in my room, wasting away pining after him. He'd want me to live my life."

Lily and Holden looked at each other. "That's very mature of you, Luke," Holden said proudly.

"How did you come to this epiphany?" Lily asked.

Luke opened his mouth, the silver spoon full of Cheerios inches away, and said, "Just a dream I had." He didn't want to worry them by telling them it had been real; it seemed they had not realized that two bottles of whiskey were missing from the cellar and he didn't want a lecture at the moment about how dangerous it is for him to drink.

"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better," Lily said. "And just because you're living your life, doesn't mean you're going to forget Reid, or stop loving him."

Luke smiled fractionally and said, "I know. I'm going to go take and shower and get dressed. I have to see if the wing will be ready to open in a couple weeks."

Lily and Holden both smiled at him as he got up from the table and went upstairs. "Do you think he's okay?" Lily asked Holden.

"Yeah. There's not time table for these things. Sometimes that's how it happens. One day a person wakes up and realizes that holing themselves up isn't going to bring back the person who died. And once they come to that conclusion, they can start living life again. I think that's what happened to Luke," Holden said wisely.

Fifteen minutes later, Luke came back down the stairs, fully dressed. "I'll be at the hospital and then at the Foundation, if you need me," Luke said, grabbing a jacket from the closet. "I'll be home for dinner."

"Are you absolutely certain you're okay?" Lily asked again.

"Yeah. I mean, I still miss him, but it's time I got back living," Luke said. "I love you, Mom." He embraced her.

"I love you, too, baby," Lily said.

"I'll see you later," Luke said, opening the door. Lily nodded at him and he left.

"He'll be alright," Holden said. "I don't know what happened in that dream last night, but I know that it helped him cope with Reid's death. I think we should just let him be. Life's too short not to."


End file.
